Wildfire and Dust Storm in California, March 16 to 17, 2002

Name: Wildfire and Dust Storm in California, March 16 to 17, 2002
Start: 2002-03-16T18:17
End: 2002-03-17T17:30
Location: California

March 16 to 17, 2002 · NWS SGX · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

High wind caused a dust storm in the Coachella Valley and aggravated a brush fire the next day. More than 100 acres burned before the fire was controlled.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS SGX wrote it up.

High wind caused a dust storm in the Coachella Valley and aggravated a brush fire the next day. More than 100 acres burned before the fire was controlled.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS San Diego, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 16, 2:30 PM PST, 3 hours 47 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 16, 2:30 PM PST, 3 hours 47 minutes before

EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
230 PM PST SAT MAR 16 2002

.SYNOPSIS...A MOIST UNSTABLE AIR MASS WILL CONTINUE ISOLATED SHOWERS
WEST OF THE MOUNTAINS THROUGH SUNDAY. AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL
CAUSE A BETTER CHANCE OF MORE WIDESPREAD SHOWERS SUNDAY NIGHT INTO
MONDAY. LOCALLY WINDY IN THE MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS INTO MONDAY. HIGH
PRESSURE WILL BRING DRY AND WARMER WEATHER TUESDAY INTO THE END OF NEXT
WEEK.

.DISCUSSION...THERE WERE SCATTERED SHOWERS THIS MORNING...MAINLY IN SAN
COUNTY...WITH ISOLATED SHOWERS THIS AFTERNOON. MOSTLY CLOUDY OVER AND
NEAR THE MOUNTAINS...OTHERWISE PARTLY CLOUDY. 12Z NKX SOUNDING HAD A
10 KFT DEEP MOIST LAYER AND STRONG W WINDS ALOFT. COOLER THROUGH MOST OF
COLUMN COMPARED TO 24 HOURS PREVIOUS. ONSHORE GRADIENTS AND TRENDS...
ESPECIALLY TO THE NE WITH ABOUT 12 MB SAN-TPH.

AFTERNOON SURFACE HEATING WILL DESTABILIZE ATMOS FOR SOME SHOWERS...
MAINLY OVER AND NEAR THE MOUNTAINS INTO THIS EVE...DECREASING LATE.
ABUNDANT LOW LEVEL MOISTURE...COLD AIR MASS AND ISLAND EFFECTS COULD
ALSO CAUSE ISOLATED SHOWERS W OF MOUNTAINS TONIGHT INTO SUN...MAINLY S.
NEXT SHORT WAVE WILL BRING A BETTER CHANCE OF MORE WIDESPREAD SHOWERS
LATE SUN INTO MON AM...TAPERING OFF FROM THE NW DURING THE AFTERNOON.
SNOW LEVEL WILL LOWER TO 3000-4000 FT SUNDAY NIGHT. THE SHOWERY NATURE
OF THE PRECIP WILL MAKE TOTALS QUITE VARIABLE BUT SHOULD GENERALLY BE
LESS THAN A QUARTER INCH. HOWEVER...LOCAL BRIEF HEAVY SHOWERS COULD
CAUSE ISOLATED TOTALS TO HALF AN INCH. LOCAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS UP TO
4 INCHES IN THE MOUNTAINS. WINDY IN THE MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS THROUGH
SUN...MAINLY N...DECREASING MON. THE COLD AIR MASS WILL MAKE SMALL HAIL
POSSIBLE. WILL PROBABLY HAVE ADVISORY STRENGTH WINDS IN THE NRN DESERTS.
RIDGING LATE MON THROUGH TUE FOR DRY WEATHER AND WARMER DAY.

LONGER RANGE PROGS KEEP RIDGE OVER THE W INTO FRI. APPROACHING TROUGH
SHOULD BRING INCREASING CLOUDS SAT AND POSSIBLE SHOWERS. WILL SPIT OFF
SAT BUT LEAVE SHOWERS OUT OF LAST DAY OF EXTENDED FOR NOW.

.SAN...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY...SEE LAXCWFSGX.
       WIND ADVISORY...SEE LAXNPWSAN.

ATKIN

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 dust storm, 1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.

Dust Storm, Coachella Valley

When: March 16, 6:17 PM PST
Where: Coachella Valley forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 33.744, -115.994 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wildfire, Riverside

When: March 17, 3:42 PM PST to 5:30 PM PST
Where: Riverside County, Corona
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 33.744, -115.994 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Dust Storm: Blowing dust that reduced visibility to a quarter mile or less.
Wildfire: A fire burning in wildland vegetation, with its acreage and damage where known.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in California in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in California, March 2002

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5281717, 5281716.